Russian Soul..what is it?

[threeships]

Greetings to everyone. I have always been interested in Russian culture/history.. and Slovak women..  what about this Russian soul thing...is it still transparent as in times past..?

[Shadow]

The Russian soul is still pretty clear to find.
However I wonder why you are interested in women from Slovakia. Slavic women prehaps ?

[possum]

Welcome threeships!. Interesting you should mention Slovak women in the same vein as Russian women.. There are probably more similarities between them than we realize.. Of course, that only applies to Slovak women who grew up in Czechoslovakia or at least remember it.. Being a half-decent Slovak speaker, I have exchanged emails with a Slovak girl in the past.. In many ways, she reminded me of a Russian girl her age.. For example, she couldn't believe someone from outside Slovakia would speak the language.. She thought it was impossible to learn..

[Misha]

In many ways, she reminded me of a Russian girl her age.. For example, she couldn't believe someone from outside Slovakia would speak the language.. She thought it was impossible to learn..

You are right, that is exactly the view held by most Russians  :selfharm:

[Misha]

what about this Russian soul thing...is it still transparent as in times past..?

If you talk to Russians and ask them to define the Russian soul, it is usually summed up thus: the Russian soul makes Russians kindhearted, makes them hospitable, that the Russian soul is as vast as Russia, etc.... It usually expresses itself in certain ways. If you are invited to their home for "tea" they will invariably have a full meal on the table as this is what hospitality is all about and they may even cite one of the folk sayings collected by Vladimir Dahl saying that there will be the smell of the Russian spirit in the home.... Nikolai Berdiaev (1874-1948) wrote quite a bit on the whole idea of the Russian Soul and there are a number of books written by American scholars as well on the the topic.

Hope this helps. I am sure the Russians and Russian-speakers here can add or clarify this.

[possum]

You are right, that is exactly the view held by most Russians  :selfharm:

Come to think of it, Slovaks are right to be surprised as there are only about 10 million Slovak speakers in the world, half of them living in Slovakia..

[threeships]

The Russian soul is still pretty clear to find.
However I wonder why you are interested in women from Slovakia. Slavic women prehaps ?

Thanks Shadow by all means I was referring to "Slavic women"

[RussianWind]

Hope this helps. I am sure the Russians and Russian-speakers here can add or clarify this.

It's unfortunately gone. We become alike the rest of the world.

[Blues Fairy]

It's unfortunately gone. We become alike the rest of the world.

I'm not sure it ever existed.  People always like to invent some romantic concept that would distinguish them from the rest of the world in a positive way, if nothing else does. 

[Shadow]

It's unfortunately gone. We become alike the rest of the world.

Believe me, the rest of the world is far away from Rusia.

[GQBlues]

Ahoj, ako sa maje!

Yeah, my ex-Slovak GF, after hearing I was marrying a Russian woman, called just to warn me to "..be careful because she'll treat you like a dog. That's what Russian women do!" LOL.

Anyway, there are indeed a lot of very distinct similarities between the two cultures, even language. dovidenia/dasvidanya, pivo/piva, vino, krasne, etc...

Slovak women are really fun and cool women to be around with..

[possum]

Ahoj, ako sa mate!

Yeah, my ex-Slovak GF, after hearing I was marrying a Russian woman, called just to warn me to "..be careful because she'll treat you like a dog. That's what Russian women do!" LOL.

Anyway, there are indeed a lot of very distinct similarities between the two cultures, even language. dovidenia/dasvidanya, pivo/piva, vino, krasne, etc...

Slovak women are really fun and cool women to be around with..

LOL How old is your gf?. The girl I was talking to was 23 and knew nothing about Russian women.. She was from Bratislava..

[RussianWind]

I'm not sure it ever existed.  

It did. But if you come from Moscow, you probably never saw it. Moscow people acted like they were "chosen". A bit of it was in St. Petersburg too.

Shadow, you know pretty well that I was speaking not about economical conditions and infastucture.

[Blues Fairy]

It did. But if you come from Moscow, you probably never saw it. Moscow people acted like they were "chosen". A bit of it was in St. Petersburg too.

I do not come from Moscow or St. Pete, but I assure you, in every town you go there is a notion that their particular brand of soul is vastly superior to the rest of the country.  This type of arrogance ("you never saw it") is probably typical of those who claim the mysterious Russian Soul truly exists(-ed).  Those who don't see it just cannot understand, due to their limitations, obviously.

[RussianWind]

I do not come from Moscow or St. Pete, but I assure you, in every town you go there is a notion that their particular brand of soul is vastly superior to the rest of the country.  This type of arrogance ("you never saw it") is probably typical of those who claim the mysterious Russian Soul truly exists(-ed).  Those who don't see it just cannot understand, due to their limitations, obviously.

How about the type of arrogance saying "I assure you, in every town you go there is a notion that their particular brand of soul is vastly superior to the rest of the country"? 

What a crap. Never ever heard of people speaking of their soul superior here They hardly gave a damn about it 

[Lily]

Greetings to everyone. I have always been interested in Russian culture/history.. and Slovak women..  what about this Russian soul thing...is it still transparent as in times past..?

IMHO, 'Russian soul' would be another term for Russian mentality.

What do you mean under 'transparent' in relation to this notion, I wonder?

[Shadow]

Shadow, you know pretty well that I was speaking not about economical conditions and infastucture.

Neither did I. As far as I know last year the Russian soul was pretty intact in people, even in Moscow.
However in order to notice it you have to be at a distance.

[GQBlues]

LOL How old is your gf?. The girl I was talking to was 23 and knew nothing about Russian women.. She was from Bratislava..

Dakujem possum for the spelling correction. I always though it was a 'j' and not a 't'. My ex's Mum is teacher and teaches Russian.

Anyway, yes, she was also 23 at the time. Fresh out of Uni. She's from Banska Bystrica, as do some of her friends. I know a lot of folks there that spread out from Brati all the way down to Poprad to the south. Beautiful country and the source of great hockey players.

They all took me out to the chata (dascha) for a long weekend before. 16 girls and 3 men and a truckload of zlaty bazaant, pilsner and (for the life of me, what do they call their hard liquor again?) liquor - and yes...cartons of cigarettes. Oh yeah, and a whole chicken and chips for our meal. That was a crazy weekend/time. Good, warm and hospitable people.

dobre dien

[possum]

Beautiful country and the source of great hockey players.

Amen.. Would love to visit some time..

They all took me out to the chata (dascha) for a long weekend before. 16 girls and 3 men and a truckload of zlaty bazaant, pilsner and (for the life of me, what do they call their hard liquor again?)
dobre dien

Borovicka?. Or, perhaps slivovica?. Zlaty bazant is available in Russia, but I'm not sure if it's the same beverage.. 

[RussianWind]

Neither did I. As far as I know last year the Russian soul was pretty intact in people, even in Moscow.
However in order to notice it you have to be at a distance.

Ok, I mistook your post. There are more and more pragmatic and materialistic people here. But when I visit my home town, people are still more open and benevolent even to strangers. You would go to someone just to say hello and can end having dinner with them. There are plenty cheering examples especially memories from my childhood.

[Faux Pas]

The Russian Soul I think is the gas one gets from eating too much cabbage and Soliyanka. IMO, it is the figment of imagination resulting from infatuation with women (or men, not that there's anything wrong with that) from Russia.

As Lily eloquently stated (paraphrased) no matter where in Russia a woman says she is from they believe their Russian Soul to be superior than the next. It generally works the same no matter where you go. I am from the American South and I have always genuinely believed we have more "Soul" than anyone anywhere else.

The "Russian Soul" line is an excellent marketing tool but little else.

[GQBlues]

Borovicka?. Or, perhaps slivovica?. Zlaty bazant is available in Russia, but I'm not sure if it's the same beverage.. 

That's it! Borovicka / Slivovica. Deliciously intoxicating!....IMO, another trait both cultures share - the passion for their alcoholic beverage. LOL.

I think that's what the whole 'soul' thing is about - the spirits behind their cultures.  They both can drink most anyone under the table.

[possum]

I think that's what the whole 'soul' thing is about - the spirits behind their cultures. 

If that's true, then I'm a golem..

[LEGAL]

How about the type of arrogance saying "I assure you, in every town you go there is a notion that their particular brand of soul is vastly superior to the rest of the country"? 

What a crap. Never ever heard of people speaking of their soul superior here They hardly gave a damn about it 

RussianWind I agree and have never heard anyone speaking of their Russian superior soul whether in Moscow Petersberg or Siberia. The only times I heard The "Russian Soul" line was by Russians marketing performances for tourists.

[Makkin]

   Russian Soul is something that is a shop I've seen in Northern Cali right?